Advanced Diabetes Supply
Is This Your Business?1.7
1.7
Author: Kaitlyn Short
Thirty million American live with diabetes and use medical supplies to manage and treat the condition. Supplies such as glucose meters, syringes, test strips and insulin pumps are expensive and require constant ordering to maintain a supply. Advanced Diabetes Supply, a division of North Coast Medical Supply, has been providing diabetics and their caregivers with this service since 2002. It is relatively new to the industry compared to its competitors some of which have been in business for over 80 years.
Home delivery of medical supplies alleviates the need to make multiple trips to a pharmacy each month. Reliable home delivery is also critical during the COVID-19 pandemic when those with diabetes are at heightened risk and avoiding trips to a pharmacy may be recommended. It delivers a variety of supplies across the United States and is a licensed pharmacy in several states. Advanced Diabetes Supply sells a good selection of diabetes products: continuous glucose monitors, insulin pumps and supplies, diabetes testing supplies, glucose meters, and braces. Other online diabetic suppliers may offer a larger selection of supplies and additional medical supplies such as medical alert bracelets, or therapeutic socks, shoes and inserts.
Accreditations can demonstrate that Advanced Diabetes Supply applies standards to its operations and practices that exceed the norm. Though it is newer to the industry, Advanced Diabetes Supply is dedicated to being the first in the nation to obtain the National DMEPOS accreditation with the National Association of the Boards of Pharmacy Advanced Diabetes Supply. As a DMEPOS-accredited supplier, it will have to consistently demonstrate that it complies with the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid supplier standards. Like many of its competitors, Advanced Diabetes Supply is already accredited for Medicare Competitive Bidding.
In addition to multiple accreditations, Advanced Diabetes Supply has obtained pharmacy licensure across the country. This is critical for a company in this industry.
Advanced Diabetes Supply stands out with the numerous online resources for diabetes education it hosts on its website. Its website features a large library of online medical documents and educational pamphlets. Advanced Diabetes Supply also hosts a company blog and has many user guides and manuals for diabetes devices listed conveniently on its website.
While it does not provide a full array of medical supplies, which can be very convenient for customers, it is partnered with North Coast Medical Supply that sells a wide array of medical products.
Top Ranked Companies
The Good
- Patient Support Materials in Multiple Languages
- New and Extra Supplies at No Cost
- Trained Customer Service Representatives and CDE
- Free Shipping
Patient Support Materials in Multiple Languages
Advanced Diabetes Supply provides a good selection of diabetic patient support education and other information on its website. Not all suppliers offer this service, and this demonstrates its dedication to patient support and education. Its site provides a list of user manuals and care instructions as well as diabetes health resources in multiple languages.
New and Extra Supplies at No Cost
It can be very helpful to have extra testing strips when you are learning how to use them or when you may be required to start testing more frequently. Advanced Diabetes Supply will provide customers with complimentary sample testing strips. It also provides customers with new and extra meters for no additional cost.
Trained Customer Service Representatives and CDE
Advanced Diabetes Supply requires orders to be placed over the phone with one of its trained customer service representatives. This is not something that some of its competitors require but it can be helpful. Its customer service team can answer questions you may have about your insurance coverage, guidelines, requirements, new products, how to use your new products and much more.
An additional benefit of working with Advanced Diabetes Supply is the access it provides to a Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE), a health professional who possesses comprehensive knowledge of and experience in diabetes prevention, prediabetes, and diabetes management. The CDE can provide seminars, cooking articles, and other education. Customers are also able to submit their own individual inquiries to the CDE via an online form.
Free Shipping
Orders are shipped via UPS Standard Ground for free. This can save customers significant money in the long-run and is an added benefit of ordering through Advanced Diabetes Supply. Many competitors do not offer free shipping.
The Bad
- No Payment Plan Option
- Mixed Reviews
- Fewer Product Options per Category
- Call to Place Orders
No Payment Plan Option
Some online suppliers of diabetic supplies offer customers payment plans for their diabetic supplies. Managing diabetes can be very expensive and requires constant supply purchases. It can be nice to work with a supplier that can help with the cost via a payment plan.
Mixed Reviews
Customers complained of shipping delays and errors in their reviews on various sites. This can be a major concern for those who depend on their diabetes testing supplies and monitors. Diabetes treatment requires consistent preventative care and experiencing a disruption in the supply of testing supplies or medications can be very challenging and have potentially serious health consequences.
Fewer Product Options per Category
Advanced Diabetes Supply has a smaller selection of products per item category. For example, it has a smaller selection of CGMs, just five, than a competitor which has 12. It also does not carry the full selection that other online diabetes suppliers provide such as socks, shoes, inserts, glucose tabs and liquids, and more.
Call to Place Orders
Unlike other online diabetic suppliers, Advanced Diabetes Supply requires customers to call them to place an order. A customer is not even able to add items to a shopping cart; it doesn’t exist on the company's website. While this feature is likely to prevent order inaccuracies and to ensure insurance benefits coverage and eligibility for accurate billing, it is still inconvenient.
The Bottom Line
Advanced Diabetes Supply provides diabetic customers and their caregivers with a solid selection of medical supplies to help them care for their diabetes. It does not have the largest selection of diabetic and other medical supplies in the industry, but it does have a good supply. It also offers free shipping while many other suppliers do not.
We like that Advanced Diabetes Supply seems dedicated to patient education and helping its customers live the best, healthiest life possible with diabetes. It even has a CDE on its staff that can help you with questions about diabetes management.
You may find it inconvenient that you have to call their customer service representatives to place an order. We also recommend that you contact its customer service line to verify how quickly your supplies are expected to ship due to customer complaints of delayed shipping.
Mike D Birmingham, AL
2 years ago
